2011/09/14

In a fit of weakness, I bought 2 silly USBmail lights. This are basically a PIC that talks USB on one side, and turns coloured leds on and off. They come with software that is supposed to check if you have mail and change colour depending on what's going on. Of course, the supplied software is Windows only and doesn't even work it seems.

Not that I care about a light that tells me if I have e-mail pending. But controling pretty lights from the computer? I'm all over that. Someone had already written a script in Python to control these things. I ported it to Perl because, well because I like Perl.

2011/09/12

If you have a server or any computer that is important, it needs an UPS. Something large enough for 5-10 minutes of power outage. But it is not enough to just plug the power into the UPS. You must also plug into UPS data port. And set up the software that will allow the computer to detect the power outage and shutdown before the battery runs out.

This is non-negotiable.

Not doing this risks you showing up Monday morning and not getting any work down while an admin drives 100 km to fix a problem.

And if you have any piece of important electronic equipment, you'll want a filter. And no the fuse on your power bar doesn't count.

About Me

I am a self-employed programmer. I program computers for a living. This also means I spend half my time as a sysadmin. The annoying half. I work nearly exclusively with Linux and Perl.
All this goes to say that NO, I WILL NOT HELP YOU FIX YOUR COMPUTER.